A new bill introduced by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) wouldcriminalize the sale of inaugural tickets. This sort of knee-jerkcriminalization has led to the proliferation of criminal offenses.
Congress has enacted 452 new crimes over the eight-year periodbetween 2000 and 2007-a rate of about 57 new crimes per year-for atotal of 4,450 federal crimes in the U.S. Code. As Congresssubjects more and more activities to criminal sanction, thecriminal law's power as a system of moral education andsocialization is diminished.
Lori Drew faces charges under a federal anti-hacking statute andcould wind up in jail, but her behavior, while obviously wrong, was not criminal. Overcriminalization eliminates long-standingprotections against unfair criminal liability, puts honest citizensat risk of prosecution, and allows politics to trump soundprosecutorial discretion. Worst of all, it threatens the rule oflaw and individual liberty.
Everyone in America knows that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” It is drummed into students from their first civics class in elementary school, so much so that it is a part of our cultural heritage. The phrase captures an important concept about culpability.
In remarks at PLI's Corporate Governance webcast last week, SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee advocated that, after 20 years, it's time for the SEC to fulfill the mandate of SOX 307.